Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Crockpot Pot-Roasted Pork Loin w/ Onion Gravy

To continue what has seemed to turn into my little celebration for the arrival of fall on Friday here on MKA....just as apples, pears and pumpkin speak fall to me...so does pork...particularly pork roast. When I saw this recipe on Tami's blog, Nutmeg Notebook, I immediately knew I wanted to make it for dinner last week. I love me some good pork roast... and this roast is just that! It is so easy and so tender, you don't even need a knife to cut it! Tami is a fantastic cook and has some awesome recipes she shares on her blog. Thank you Tami for sharing this wonderful pork roast recipe.

Pork loin is a great deal, both calorie wise and money wise. You can often find it on sale at your store, many times in a large cryopack for around $2.50 a pound, which the butcher can cut for you into chops or roasts or a combo of both. I found this 3 pound roast on sale for about $7.00 for the entire thing. Pork loin is also pretty lean...making a three ounce serving come in at 4 points+.

I followed Tami's recipe exactly, except I did sprinkle the top of the roast with some smoked paprika. If you have never used smoked paprika before...go and get some! I got mine at World Market for a steal and I am IN LOVE with it's smokey flavor! I have been finding uses for it in so many places! But if you don't have smoked paprika, you can leave it off and your roast will still be delicious.

I definitely recommend thickening the juices with some cornstarch and making a gravy out of them...as the roast being so lean tends to need a little bit of help with some sort of sauce. I used my immersion blender to blend up the onions in the juices to help thicken the gravy, but you don't need to do that if you don't have one. It would be fine to keep them as they are and just make a gravy with pieces of onion throughout. I also poured the hot juices out of the crockpot and into a small saucepan to finish and thicken the sauce on the stovetop. Even on high, my crockpot won't get hot enough to boil sauces to thicken them.

I served this roast with some mashed potatoes, peas and some speedy microwave applesauce ( saving the applesauce recipe for a future post!) The applesauce went perfectly with the pork roast and gravy!

Servings - about 12 Serving Size - 3 oz. of meat plus 2 TBS gravy Points Plus per Serving - 4 points+ for meat and an additional 1 point+ for gravy* ( I had no idea how to calculate the gravy pp, so I am giving it a 1p+ value for 2 TBS, as it seemed to not have much fat in it and I added a couple TBS. cornstarch to thicken it)

Approx. 3 pound boneless top loin pork roast, trimmed ( I tied mine with some kitchen twine to help the meat cook evenly)

4 cloves of garlic, slivered

2 small to med onions, peeled and sliced

2 dried bay leaves

1 whole clove

1 TBS low sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup hot water

salt and pepper, to taste

smoked paprika ( optional )

1 - 2 TBS cornstarch, to thicken gravy

1. Rub pork roast with desired amount of salt and fresh ground black pepper. Make tiny slits in the meat and insert slivers of garlic...( I used about half and just set the rest on top of the roast )

2. Spray crock of crockpot with cooking spray for easy cleanup later. Spread the slices from one onion onto the bottom of the crock. Place the roast on top. Add remaining onion on top of roast along with the remainder of the garlic. Push the bay leaves and the clove down into the bottom layer of onion.

3. Combine the water and the soy sauce and pour over top of roast. Sprinkle roast with smoked paprika, if desired. Cover and cook on LOW for about 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours.

4. Once roast is done, remove to platter and cover loosely with foil to rest. Pick out the bay leaves and what might be left of the clove and discard. Take the juices and onion in the crock and carefully transfer to a med sauce pan. Be careful! they are very HOT! Mix cornstarch with a little water and mix into hot juices. At this point you can use the immersion blender to blend it into a smooth sauce...or not. Bring the juices with the cornstarch to a full boil and allow to thicken to the consistency you like. Season with salt and pepper and serve with roast.

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Fall is definitely in the air here in NE Ohio! I have noticed quite a few of the trees starting to change color and the burning bushes in the front of my development have started to turn that very vibrant red they turn this time of year. Also, my redbud tree is starting to sadly drop its leaves! How about you? What sorts of things "speak" fall to you??

This crockpot roast is a perfect way to celebrate fall! Can I just tell you how absolutely wonderful your house will smell while it's cooking away all day?? It worth it to make it just for that alone! lol

If you haven't left me a comment to win some free product from Nunaturals...be sure to go HERE and try your luck! I continue to me amazed by the quality of these products! Don't worry if your comment doesn't show up right away...it has now gone into moderation mode and I will be checking to make sure ALL comments I get are posted before the contest closes! You have until this Friday to enter!